I have eaten durian and I liked it. I even made a Durian Cream Pie when I was the pastry chef at Bruce Cost’s Monsoon restaurant in San Francisco (one customer sent me back a note that said, “How dare you!”)
The durian does smell like a very, very ripe coconut. I learned to boil the seeds and eat them as well. I find the ones that haven’t been frozen, like I’ve seen in Thailand, are far more aromatic and taste much better.

Tiong

August 4, 2005 12:29pm

Excellent. While I am in the mood for macaroon, maybe I can make a durian macaroon. Perhaps.

Speaking of which: I am having great difficulty finding recipes for macaroon filling. All the recipes out there are for ganache or butter cream. I am hoping to find something citrus or non-chocolate. You have any suggestions?

It’s a bit remarkable that you speak so calmly of Durian. My cousin was forced to eat hers half a block away from the rest of the family because the aroma of which you speak so fondly was rather, uh, strong. The word aroma seems to have positive connotations, but its use is not limited to such, as my compost pile is also aromatic.
My cousin thinks the flavor is very, well, erotic, but I think we have different taste in men.

Michelle

August 4, 2005 7:36pm

I am almost curious enough to beg, borrow, and steal to get a recipe like durian creme pie. I tried it once, several years ago, with some friends – we still collectively grimace when we talk about it. I never would have thought to likening its’ aroma to coconut – that’s a first.

Yes, the scent (is that a better word than ‘aroma’?), or stink, is like a ripe, almost rotting, coconut. (In French, the word for any scent is ‘odeur’. I was explaining to a French friend that ‘odor’ in English implied ‘stinky’…then I had to explain something that smelled bad, as opposed to something good—not an easy task!

I’ve seen people of Asian origin get mesmerized, as if under the influence of a narcotic, when slurping the pulp of the durian. Most durian that you find outside of Asia are frozen for transport (due to the smell, or odor, or aroma, or perfume…or stink!) so they don’t have the same, um, intensity.

My grandmother, who was really quite frank, was in Thailand and when confronted with her first durian said “It smells like the gas from a thousand asses.”

(Sorry to be so graphic, but I tried substituting another word for ‘ass’ and it didn’t capture her original spirit…)

tiong

August 6, 2005 12:10pm

One of my favourite icecreams is made from durian. I tracked down the guying making it…
He is a regular Australian surfer/punk/dude. He said he went to chinatown and decided to try out new fruits…

Yes, most people find durian repulsive. but if one can overcome the innitial barrier and actually taste the fruit, i am quite sure half of you will actually be gradually seduced by the taste, if not the ‘aroma’.

Think of it this way, if we can swallow fermented grape juice (ie wine) and get addicted to it, why not give durian a go?

Ash

August 7, 2005 5:18am

Is it really just the outer hull that smells or does the fruit itself smell too? I also read that some people smell it as a mixture of vomit/manure, but others don’t notice the smell at all. Weird, isn’t it?